The Mystery of Dark Matter
What is dark matter?
Dark matter is matter that is dark, meaning it emits no visible light, no x-ray, and no infrared light.
Dark matter makes up around 25% of the Universe. This should not be confused with dark energy which is also mysterious and makes up around 70% of the Universe. We see and fully understand only about 5% of what composes the Universe.
According to NASA, the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration, there are more certainties about what is not dark matter than what is dark matter.
Dark matter is not the planets, stars, and other matter that we can observe.
Dark matter is not dark baryonic clouds. Baryonic clouds are made up of baryons and can be detected because they absorb radiation that is passed through them.
Dark matter is not antimatter. According to Scientific American, antimatter is identical to matter except antimatter has the opposite electric charge. When a particle of matter meets its counterpart, the positron, they annihilate each other. Both the matter and antimatter disappear and their energy is transformed into another form.
The scientists at NASA have determined that dark matter is not antimatter because it does not produce the unique gamma rays that are created when antimatter annihilates matter.
Dark matter is not galaxy-sized black holes. When light passes by high concentrations of matter there is an observational bending of that light. Galaxy-sized black holes have been ruled out because the bending of light has not been observed in the quantity needed to explain the 25% contribution of dark matter to the Universe.
There is not a definitive answer to what dark matter is but there are some possibilities that have not been ruled out and are currently being studied.
What could dark matter be?
Astrophysicists at NASA consider two main categories of objects as possibilities for what dark matter could be.
Baryonic matter could still make up dark matter in the form of (MACHOs) Massive Compact Halo Objects. MACHOs are objects that range in size and are made up of ordinary matter such as protons, neutrons, and electrons.
The more popular view is that dark matter is made up of more exotic particles such as (WIMPs) Weakly Interacting Massive Particles. WIMPs are subatomic particles that are not made up of ordinary matter. Examples include neutrinos, axions, and neutralinos.
The mystery of dark matter remains unsolved.
Dark matter is so intriguing because it is one of the unsolved mysteries of the Universe. Until the mystery of dark matter is solved I will continue to envision my own theories of what this unknown in outer space contains.
Sources:
NASA, Dark Energy, Dark Matter
http://nasascience.nasa.gov/astrophysics/what-is-dark-energy
Scientific American, What is antimatter?
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=what-is-antimatter-2002-01-24
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Possibilities for Dark Matter
http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/teachers/galaxies/imagine/dark_matter.html
Published by Loki Morgan - Featured Contributor in Technology and Lifestyle
Loki Morgan is a Microsoft Certified Professional with over ten years experience in the Information Technology field including technical writing. Morgan has published online content with a focus on compute... View profile
- The Gravity Theory Dispenses with Dark MatterA look into some Dark Matter and Gravitational Theory research.
- Dark Matter May Have Helped Stars DevelopDark matter is a word that those who follow science may hear about, but what you will not hear defined is exactly what dark matter is. It is not because scientists and the intellectuals who follow them are trying to c...
- Why Dark Matter MattersDark matter is that invisible nothing that makes up a bulk of mass in our universe. Astronomers and others believe there is now clear evidence that darkons exist in all surfaces and that light acts as a "dark sucker."
- The Mystery of Dark EnergyEver imagined what the 'empty space' of the universe is made up of or what are the reasons behind ever expanding universe?
- What is Dark Matter?What is dark matter? Why is the universe expanding at an accelerating rate? Some thoughts I had while drinking my coffee.
- An Overview of the Theories on Dark Matter
- Dark Matter
- Shedding Light on Dark Matter
- Colliding Galaxies, X-rays and Dark Matter
- Dark Matter: Have Its Particles Been Detected?
- Scientists: Dark Matter Doesn't Exist
- A New Theory of the Universe: Cosmic Web and Dark Matter
- Dark matter emits no visible light, no x-ray, and no infrared light.
- Dark matter makes up around 25% of the Universe.
- Dark energy makes up around 70% of the Universe.
19 Comments
Post a CommentEnjoyed this. Many SF stories have been written around the subject. I too like the imaginative views best. Great article.
very nice job! Hugz CJ
You handled this odd topic quite well and kept me reading along for fun and information.
Interesting article. Great job!
A good piece on a fascinating subject.
Thanks Lynette, I'll check that out! (=
Hi, Loki:
I saw your web site posted on twitter and checked out your dark matter writing.
I'm an astrophysics afficionada, as a lay person, and read a lot of cosmology (formation of galaxies) science. Like you, I speculate on what dark matter is and quantum particles are. You might be interested in reading Deep Time by the British physicist David Darling. Loved reading your article. Thanks!
- Lynette
SO much out there we have no clue about. good article
Interesting. There's a lot we don't know.
Interesting read!